Pellicle fastener



Feb. 27, 1962 Filed May 20, 1954 J- C. MACY PELLICLE FASTENER 7Sheets-Sheet 1' 1962 J. c. MACY 3,02

PELLICLE FASTENER Filed May 20, 1954 7 Shets-Sheet 3 I INVENTOR JAMEJ C.MAC) BY Cut}. Mmdr 3113541.

ATTORNEYS Feb. 27, 1962 J; c. MACY 3,022,511

PELLICLE FASTENER Filed May 29, 1954 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIG. 7.

INVENTOR JAMES a. MAC) ATTQRNEYS aw, Mm ri /"M- F 1962 J. c. MACY3,022,511

PELLICLE FASTENER Filed May 20, 1954 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 ATTORNEYS 55.27,1962 C, MACY 3,022,511

PELLICLE FASTENER Filed May 20, 1954 7 Sheets-Sheet 7 FIG. 25.

INVENTOR z/AME'i 6 MAC) ATTORNEYS BY Q4 4, MOM-4r ri /M.

United States atent: O

3,022,511 PELLICLE FASTENER James C. Macy, Westfield, N.J., assignmtoIdeco In- ;orpo'rated, Westfield, NJ., a corporation of New ersey FiledMay 20, 1954, Ser. No. 431,176 11 Claims. (Cl. 1-68) This inventionrelates to the fastening or sealing of flexible sheets, tubes, orpellicles and the like, and especially bags, sausage casings and otherflexible containers.

An object of this invention is to provide for inexpensive fastening ofpellicles.

Another object is to provide an improved fastener which can easily beapplied to relatively delicate articles without damaging them.

The success, which is well known, of thin flexible casings used as foodpackages and the like has created a wide demand for a simple yetefiicient fastening means. String knotted in loops by hand has beentried for this purpose but, although string is cheap, in the long runthis way is expensive because of the labor cost. Certain difficultiespeculiar to the fastening of thin flexible casings, have prevented theadaption for thispurpose of known fasteners or have left much room forimprovement and have limited development in this field.

Among these difficulties is the tendency of the relatively delicatecasing walls to be torn or cut when constricted by metal bands or rings,especially when the folds of the casing are not easily gathered as isthe case when fastening the mouth of a bag or tubular casing, asdistinguished from a center part as between links of a continuous chainof sausages. Moreover, because the contents of such casings arefrequently under some pressure, for example, when a sausage is beingcooked, the fasteners must be strong enough to maintain etfective sealsunder these conditions. Additional difficulties arise from therequirements that the fasteners be non-toxic and that they present aneat attractive appearance, and especially that it be economical toapply. All these requirements and difiiculties are intended to be metand overcome by the present invention.

In accordance with the present invention, fastener stock having theattributes of rigidity and strength combined with ductility andpliability is obtained by attaching, in freely sliding relation to aflat strip or ribbonthe base is forged. Individual fasteners are madefrom this stock by cutting it into short lengths and then bending eachinto a closed loop around a pleated portion of the pellicle with thefacing covering the inside and lateral edges.

Also in accordance with the invention, an automatic machine is providedwhich accepts this fastener st'ockin continuous form and applies it athigh speed but under carefullycontrolled conditions to articles to befastened. The fasteners produced in this way are strong, because of thestiff base, Wont cut the fastened articles, because the base isprevented from contacting the article by the softer facing, and providevery tight seals, because the facing of the fastener is compressedtightly between the 3,922,5ll Patented Feb. 27, 1962 "ice pleats of thefastened article and the encircling base. Moreover, because only thefacing is in contact with the sealed article the fasteners areabsolutely non-toxic and sanitary. By use of colored plastic facing itis easy to color-code the fastened articles to identify the contents ofaparticular casing.

In the accompanying drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a right front perspective View of an illustrative embodimentof an automatic fastening machine in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the same embodiment, looking from thedirection opposite to that in FIGURE 1; 7

FIGURE 3 is a right side view, with parts broken away, of the frontportion of the embodiment of FIG- URE 1 before insertion of an articleto be fastened;

FiGURE 4 is a sectional view taken along line 44 in FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary left side view of the same embodiment;

FIGURE 6 shows a toggle arrangement alternative to that in FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 7 is the same view as FIGURE 3, but taken just after an articlehas been inserted;

FIGURE 8 is an enlarged right side view of the bending jaws in theembodiment of FIGURE 1, taken just after a short length or" the fastenerstock hasbeen cut ofi;

FIGURE 9 is the same as FIGURE 8 but taken at a later time;

FIGURE 10 is the same as FIGURE 9' but taken at a later time;

FiGUfi ll is a vertical section view taken along the line ill-11 ofFIGURE 10; 7

FIGURE 12is the same as FIGURE 11 but taken at, a'later time;

FIGURE 13 is an isometric view of the bending jaws of the embodiment ofFIGURE 1;

FIGURE 14 is the sanre'as FIGURE 7 but taken near the end of thefastener-bending operation;

FIGURE '15 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the bending jaws in theposition shown in FIGURE 14;

FIGURE 16 is an enlarged top view, with a portion broken away, of acompleted fastener encircling an article (shown in dotted outline);

FIGURE 17 is a cross-section of FIGURE 16 taken aiong line 17-47;

FiGURE 18 illustrates the cross-section of a similar fastener formedinto a different shape;

FIGURE 19 illustrates a still different shape of fastener;

FIGURE 20 illustrates in cross section, one embodiment of fastener stockfrom which the fasteners shown in FIGURES 16-19 can be formed;

FIGURE 21 is a perspective view of a second illustra'tive embodiment ofan automatic fastening machine in accordance with the present invention;

arms of the embodiment of FIGURE 21;

FIGURE 25 is a side elevation of a machine in accordance with theinvention for forming the fastener stock by placing the facing'rnaterialover the base strip;

FIGURE 26 is a top view of the embodiment of FIGURE 25;

FIGURE 27 is a'perspec-tive view'of a spreading device used in theembodiment of FIGURE 25;

FIGURES 28 through 31 show cross-sections of the cludes a fastenerforming mechanism 11, a hydraulic motor 12 together with its associatedvalves and'piping. and a supply drum 13 from which fastener stock 14-isfed in continuous strip form to the forming mechanism. Each casing to befastened, with its folds permissibly somewhatmore loosely pleated thanwhen fastened, is

inserted into the machine in the direction of the arrow through theguide slot between brackets 15and, when properly positioned, isautomatically encircled by a fastener which is formed and bent around itin one continuous operation by mechanism 11.

Motor 12, which supplies the power for this operation is actuated whenan'article to be fastened is pushed to the bottom of the slot betweenbrackets 15 and switch 17 is depressed by the movement of feeler' arm16.

A v-shaped knife 18 is attached as shown, to the front of mechanism 11'to facilitate cutting ofi excess bag I material.

Brackets 15 serve to gather and compress the bag material and guide itinto slot 115 and to keep the contents of a filled casing out of saidslot during'fastening.

The brackets 15 may be unscrewed and reversed to facilitate left handoperation if desired, or may be wider for convenient operation witheither hand.

The deails of mechanism 11 are shown in FIGURE '3 at a time just beforethe insertion of an unfastened article.

4 14 by alternately clamping it to the slide as the latter moves to theleft and clamping it to the frame as the slide moves back to the right.

In FIGURE 7, the advance of stock 14 for one cycle is complete andan'appropriate length of it to make a fastener is positioned over thelower'or U-ing jaw 46 of the mechanism. Lever 35, pivoted at 136 to theframe of the machine, is raised by means of cam surface 37 on theadvancing plunger 28 and a follower projection 128 on the bottom of thelever 36. This upward motion is transmitted to the U-ing jaw by lever 39pivoted to the frame at 139 and to the jaw, and by links 38 pivotedbetween the levers 36 and 39.

As the article is moved by the workman in the direction 7 FIGURE 5)which are pivoted by it on a common axis on two studs 21 and 22respectively mounted on frame plates 23 and 24 '(see FIGURE 4). Thisaxis of pivoting perpendicularly intersects the line along which thebending and forming jaws move toward each other, so that when the twoarms 19 and 20 are swung down'to their end limits as indicated by thedotted outline in FIGURE 5 they will hold the article and confine itsfolds in proper position for fastening. The mouths of the slots in thesearms are made relatively wide so that loosely gathered casings mayeasily be inserted while the throats of the slots are narrowed toconfine the folds prior to fastening and round bottomed with radiusapproximating or less than that of the crimping die faces 14% and 141 onthe bending and forming jaws 40 and 41, so that when toggled togetherthey surround a circular opening small enough to pre-compress the bagmaterial. Arms 19 and 29 are ganged together by gear sectors 25 and 26which are rigidly fixed on a common shaft 27. As seen best in FIGURE 5,when these arms are forced downward by the article, the back edge of arm20 moves arm 16 backward, and actuates switch 17. Motor 12 then movesplunger 28 to the left in FIGURE 3 and initiates the fastening cycle nowto be described.

As plunger 23 moves from its position shown in FIG- URE 3 tothat shownin FIGURE 7, cam surface 29 carried on thc bottom. of it engages feeddrive lever 30 and rotates it clockwise to the position shown in FIGURE7. As this lever is rotated, its lower end pushes a clamping slide 31to'the left against the action of spring 32 which, upon the completionof the fastening cycle, re-

7 turns the slide to its back position as shown in FIGURE 3.

Slide 31 is adapted to grip the fastener stockand im: part to it step bystep advances to the left, one 'step for each cycle. The amount ofadvance each time is deter- 'mined by the setting of stop screw 33(FIGURE 7) which fixes the back position of the slide. Detent pawl 34,which is pivoted to the frame ofmechanism 11, and feed pawl 35, which iscarried by slide 31, co-operate with each other and the slide inadvancing fastener stock Shortly after jaw 4%) begins to move upward itstop right edge serves as a shear with adjacent fixed edge 4 (FIGURE 8)to shear elf a short length of fastener stock positioned over the jaw.Cam surface 57 has been provided to lift jaw 40 during this shearingaction as the mechanical advantage of the other jaw moving'elements atthis time is low. An alternative arran ement is shown in FIGURE 6.

The severed short length of fastener stock shown in FIGURE 8 is heldnear the centers of its side edges by nibs 45 and 46 on fingers 47 and45, respectively, which are attached at their lower ends to the frame.As jaw 40 continues to move upward, opposite ends of the short length offastener stock'are bent upward to a U-shape, as indicated by thesuccessive views of FIGURES 8, 9 and 10; and-the U-ed stock thuspartially embraces the casing material-already compressed by the togglearms 19 and 20. Continued movement of jaws 40, 41 forms the ends of thestock around the circle and then compresses and forges the fastener soas "permanently to compress the bag material within the fasteners insidesurface of relatively soft facing material.

In the process of bending, the facing material is bent on a smallerradius than the base of the fastener stock; and, since it is purposelymade slideable on the base, this bending extends it more and more beyondthe two ends of the base. Thus the facing covers the sheared corners andedges of the base and prevents them from cutting or puncturing thecasing material.

As plunger 28 continues to advance beyond its position shown in FIGURE 7it straightens a' toggle linkage including links 49, pivoted between theend of plunger 28 and lever 36, and link 50, pivoted between the end ofplunger 28 and upper bending jaw 41. The straightening of this togglefirst moves jaw 49 upward to the position shown in FIGURE 10 to completethe U-ing operation, and then moves top jaw 41 downward to engage thepartially bent fastener. The cross-section view of FIGURE 11 taken justprior to this engagement shows fingers 47 and 48 still holding thefastener strip, while in FIGURE 12 the cam surfaces 147 on jaw 40 havespread these fingers apart to disengage them from the fastener. In theposition shown in FIGURE 12, jaw 41 has come into-contact with thefastener and is partly interrneshed with jaw 49. Continued advance ofthe two jaws brings them into fully meshing'relation, as shown in FIGURE14 and results in completing the forming of fastener 55 (as shown-inFIG- URI-3 15) which is forged around the casing (not shown).

After reaching the position shown in FIGURE 14, plunger 28 together withthe'elements driven by it, return to the rest position shown in FIGURE3; and upon the removal of the fastened article, the above describedcycle is ready to be repeated. The complete fastening cycle actuallylasts only a fraction of a second.

,An illustrative embodiment of fastener stock 14 is Base 57 is heldwitnin facing 53 by the overhanging side walls of the latter withoutadhesive, and this allows the two to slide relatively freely withrespect to each other. As will be explained hereinafter, base 57 andfacing 58 are formed separately and then assembled. Facing 58 isadvantageously serrated or ridged as shown to increase the grippingefiect of a completed fastener.

A completed fastener 55 is shown in FIGURES 16 and 17 encircling anarticle partially indicated in dotted outline. As previously stated,base 57 is completely separated from the article and covered along itssides and ends by the overhanging edges of facing 58 and by the endportions of facing 58 which have been extended beyond and then clampedbetween the ends of the base as described above and shown incross-section in FIGURE 17.

The base strip in the formed fastener is not only bent around the bagbut is intentionally also bent to arcuate cross-section as shown inFIGURE 16. Since therbend is inward, or concave, the holding force ofthe fastener is concentrated over its center portion and shiftedfrom itssides which not only increases the effectiveness of the seal but furtheraids in preventing the cutting or tearing of the bag. To accomplish thisdesirable double bending of fastener 55, jaws 4i and 41 have beendesigned, as best shown in FIGURE 13, with die faces 140 and 141slightly narrower than the metal base 57 so that they eifectively engageonly the center portion of the base in the fastener strip during itsfinal bending and closing, as shown in FIGURES 12, 14 and 15. Width W ofjaw 40, as indicated in FIGURE 13, is about foe same width as the stock,

however, and faces 56 and 156 are flared out from faces' 14% and 141.

The jaws shown in FIGURE 13 taken together define a die-cavity adaptedto produce a fastener of approximately elliptical cross-section, asshown in FIGURE 17. Extensions 42 on jaw 41 intermesh in grooves 43 injaw 40 to afford lateral support to the fastener during bending and finaforging of the fastener thereby preventing the fastener from spreadingduring closing of the die cavity.

laws may 'lternatively be shaped to conform to fasteners of a differentcross-section, for example, like that shown in FIGURE 18 or FIGURE 19.

the two jaws close together. The position of the jaws upon thecompletion of a fastener is shown in FIGURE 23. It should be noted thatthe cross section of the fastener will be substantially as shown inFIGURE 19.

At the time represented in FIGURE 23,1ini: 324:, which is pivoted toplunger 28a, has pushed the fastener feed lever Eda, which is pivoted tothe frame, downward to the position shown so that upon retraction of theplunger 23a spring 320 will rotate lever 36a clockwise and advance thefastener stoclg 1 4 a sufficient amount prior tothe commencement ofanother fastening cycle. The stool: is guided in this movement by abacking guide 77 and pawl 35a pivoted to the end of lever 30a so that itengages the stock when moving up but releases it when moving down. Guide78 provides a front support for the stock. The amount of advance or" thestock each time is determined by the throw of piston 23a. After afastener has been applied, switch I'lla is released and plunger 28a andthe ele- FIGURES 2l-23 show a second illustrative embodiment of afastening'macbine lila in accordance with the invention. This embodimentis intended for use as a portable hand tool operation, as distinguishedfrom bench operation with the embodimen of FIGURE 1, and includes afastener-forming mechanism 116, a hydraulic motor 12a, and a fastenerstock supply magazine 13a. The underlying design considerations for thisembodiment ar the same as those for machine it although for the sake ofeconomy the manner of operation here has been modifled substantially.

The structural details of machine l lo a e shown in FIG 'RE 22. Upon theinsertion of a twisted or bunched bag into the throat of the slot 125a,the workman presses switch 170, and plunger 28a, powered by motor 12a,begins to move to the left. This movement begins to straighten thetoggle 49a, 56a. Link 49a is pivoted between the plunger 2dr: and upperjaw 41a, and link a is pivoted between the plunger lower jaw 4%. Thesejaws are pivoted to the frame on fixed pivot 135a for closing together,and jaw 3:2 co-operates with fined shear edge 44a to shear oif the hortlength of fastener stock 14 positioned over it. i

As this jaw continues to move, stationary arms 47a and (see FIGURE 24)hold the center portion of the short length of fastener strip along itsside edges until it is bent into a U shape and then are cammed out bystud 143 carried on plunger 28a and cam surfaces 147a on the insides ofthe arms. Just before the arms are completely disengaged, upper jaw 41::comes into contact with the fastener stripand, in a way analogous tothat described in connection with FIGURES 11 and 12, co-operates withjaw 4th: to form the strip into a completed fastener when ments drivenby it return to the position shown in FIG- URE 22.

FIGURE 25 shows an arrangement in accordance with the present inventionfor placing a channel shaped facing, such as facing 53 in FIGURE 20,around a flat strip base, such as base 57. This arrangement comprises aframe iii) upon which are mounted a number of guide rollers for guidingstrip 57 and facing 58 past a spreading jaw 81 which is mounted on theframe but shown separately in FIGURE 27. The guide drums 82 and 132 arepowered by hydraulic motor 83, shown in FIGURE 26, whose rotation istransmitted to the drums by a series of sprockets and drive chains.

Strip 58 is introduced to the spreading jaw 81 as shown in FIGURE 28 andin passing down the face of the jaw is gradually pried open as shown inthe successive crosssections of FIGURES 29 and 30. During this passage,facing 58 is urged against the jaw by the rollers 90, 91, 92 shown inFIGURE 25. At a point where edges of the facing have been opened upsuiiiciently, base 57 is fed over roller 82 through an opening 84 in theface of the spreading jaw (FIGURE 27) and pressed against the insideface of facing 58 as shown in FIGURE 30.

As the base and facing move further downward, the edges of the facingare gradually released and allowed to bend back over the base as shownby FIGURE 31. With a final pressing between rollers 35 and 86 (seeFIGURE 32) to insure a close union between the base and facing, theemerging fastener stock 14 is ready for use and may be fed immediatelyinto a machine of the type of FIG- URES l24 or may be reeled or cut intoshort lengths and supplied to a magazine of such a machine.

The foregoing is intended in illustration and not in limitation. Changesand modifications in the embodiments described may occur to thoseskilled in the art and these changes and modifications may be madewithout departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as setforth.

I claim:

1. For clamping articles such as casings and other articles with aribbon of ductile material, the method which comprises the step ofcovering one side and the edges of the ribbon with relatively softmaterial which is free to slide lengthwise of the ribbon, and the stepof winding the ribbon with said side on the inside around the articleand causing'the covering to slide beyond the ends of the ribbon, therebyto protect the article from contact with all of said ribbon includingsaid ends.

2. For clamping articles such as casings and other articles with aribbon of ductile material, the method which comprises covering one sideof the ribbon with a ribbon of relatively soft material which is widerthan the malleable ribbon, bending the margins of the soft ribbon overthe edges of the malleable ribbon, and winding the ribbon with said sideon the inside around the article and causing the soft material to slidebeyond the ends of the malleable ribbon, thereby to 'protect the articlefrom contact with all of said ribbon including said ends.

3. For holding the ends of sausage casings and the like, a clampcomprising an open ring of ductile material having its ends spaced apartacross a narrow gap and an equal length open cover ring of relativelysoft'material which covers the inner periphery of the ductile ring andoverlaps the edges thereof, which is non-adherent to the ductile ring,and whose ends extend beyond the ends of the ductile ring.

4. For clamping articles such as casings and the like, a clampcomprising an open ring of ductile material having its ends spaced apartand an open ring of relatively soft material which covers the innerperiphery of the ductile ring and overlaps the edges thereof with itsedges spaced apart to leave a circumferential zone of the outerperiphery of the ductile ring uncovered, which is nonadherent to theduct'de ring, and whose ends extend be- 1 yond and somewhat between theends of the ductile ring;

} ductile ring with its margins folded over the edges of the ductilering and its edges spaced apart to leave a circumferential zone of theouter periphery of the ductile ring uncovered, which is non-adherent tothe ductile ring,

which is of equal length to the ductile ring, and whose ends extendbeyond the ends of the ductile ring.

6. A methodof applying a fastener to an article comprising taking aflat, short length, stiff, bendable, ribbonlike base of material,contacting it on its outer side and bending it into a self-holding,single turn closed ring around said article and while bending itaroundsaid article substantially bending it across its width at pointsalong its length whereby the holding force of said fastener is increasedover what it would be if said base were not bent across its width.

7. An article fastener comprising a short length of relatively stillun-springy base material having two butt ends and leaving a substantialarea on the other side of said base, said base comprising asubstantially closed ring with its ends separated by a narrow gap andwith the covering on the inside of said base, said covering extendingslightly beyond the butt ends of said base, said base serving to holdsaid covering rigidly in ring shape, whereby an article enclosed by saidfastener is prevented from coming in contact with the edges of saidbasematerial- 8. The combination of elements as in claim 7 in which saidbase is a flat ribbon of metal and said covering is a channel strip ofmaterial with side edges overhanging said metal ribbon, and said basehaving its central part of less diameter than its edges.

9. In applying a fastener of the type having a core of ductile materialand a covering of relatively soft material, the method which comprisesbending the fastener around an article and concomitantly causing thecovering to distend lengthwise of the core so that the ends of thecovering project beyond the ends of the core and protect the articlefrom the ends of the ductile core.

10. in applying a fastener of the type having a strip of ductilematerial and a ribbon of relatively soft material covering substantiallyonly one side of the strip, the method which comprises bending thefastener around an article with said one side facing the article andconcomitantly causing the soft ribbon to move lengthwise of the strip sothat its ends project beyond the ends of the strip and protect thearticle from the ends of the strip.

11. A method of applying a fastener to a thin fragile casing or the likein such a way that the wall of the casing is not torn or punctured, saidmethod comprising taking a longer length of'a ribbon-like base of a thinbendable metal having a soft plastic covering mounted thereon and leavinone side of the base at least partly bare, cutting a short length ofsaid base and covering from said longer length, and forming said base ofsaid short length into a closed ring around said casing with saidcovering therebetween, said forming being accomplished by contactingsaid base along its bare surface and in such way that said covering isforced beyond the ends of said base as it is being closed into a ring.

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